http://smithkraft.com/2009/09/28/lifes-finest-pleasures/
That was the sentiment of an eight-member pane l of education, training and governmenty experts gathered by the South Floridaw Business Journal to examine howthe $787 billion federal stimulus package is impacting the region’w education and workforce training sectors. The pane l marked the third in theBusiness Journal’s ongoinfg stimulus series, aimed at tracking and analyzing the flow of money from the American Recovery and Reinvestmenyt Act into South Florida.
Florida’s Legislaturr was the only one nationally to request a federapl waiver that allowed it to take moneyu from education and replace it with stimulus dollarxs while other states used stimulus dollars to augment the The situation concerned panelistystate Sen. Eleanor Sobel. “We are not starting at the startingg line. The school district in Broward Countuy and those throughout the state are startint behind thestarting line,” Sobel “They have had problems for yearss and they are all scrambling.
” Veteranh educator Robert Parks, a member of the Browared County School Board, said, “Many of the large urban districts in the nation are afraid of one which is basically a bait and switcbh with those dollars.” What’s even more worrisome to some expert is that the stimulus money will eventually run out. “I’nm really concerned about in three years; what’s going to said José Vicente, president of ’s Nortb Campus. “This is a Band-Aid.” He said the college’d operating budget was cut $22 million while the stimulus money wasonly $13 Parks said Broward County’s school system has cut $1.
4 billionh from its construction budget in addition to furloughing 700 teachersd and 51 administrators. “We’ve closecd all of our school offices for the We don’t have summe school anymore,” Parks said. would have been lookingy at cutting its budget byabout $30 million without $12 million in stimulus said Dorothy K. Russell, the university’sz associate VP for financial affairsx andbudget director. The university cut 30 positionzand “had we not had the stimulus dollars it coulc have been much more severe.” George executive VP and COO of , said the $1.
3 billion in stimulusw funds given to the stated relieved pressure on the Legislature to further reduce supporg for Florida Resident Access Grants (FRAG), a key source of monet for students, but he pointed out that the grantxs used to be $3,000 a year for students and are now The amount is important to students, who find enrollment caps at state universities and turn to NSU and other private He also said that universities are workinbg together to apply for federal stimulus funding. NSU has a collaborativw proposal with and FAU fora $50 milliobn research building with wet labs, businesw incubator space and offices for the U.S.
Geologicalk Survey, which is helping oversee Everglades restoration. “We have shovel-ready projectxs we have submitted to the Governor and in the next 60 days we could put 1,000 people to work,” Hanbury said. The competition for these typesof though, is fierce. FAU is gettinhg about $12 million in directt infusion from the federal stimulus but the university also is seeking money from the for labs and Russell said. April was the monthg to submit applications and the results are expectedfby September. The strongest flow of so far, appears to be for programs that help the jobless asthe state’z unemployment rate has hit 10.
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